Wal-Mart to launch upscale ad campaign

BLOOMBERG NEWS

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will debut an advertising campaign to convince shoppers it's more than a place to buy basic items.

Starting Tuesday, Wal-Mart said it would broadcast nine 15-second TV ads that focus on upscale items such as plasma televisions and highlight the quality of its merchandise. The ads will appear in weekly magazines, a first for Wal-Mart, along with monthly publications, the company said Tuesday.

The campaign, with the slogan, "Look beyond the basics," features shoppers buying products such as backyard furniture after buying basics such as lipstick.

The company launches its campaign while also planning to improve its Web site and expand its selection of home goods and electronics.

The site will add interactive features and larger, more detailed pictures, Walmart.com President Carter Cast said recently. It also will offer more apparel and items for infants and toddlers, he said.

"The signs are there that they can do it," said Todd Jones, an analyst at PNC Advisors in Philadelphia, with $50 billion in assets including Wal-Mart shares. "It's going to take a long time for them to get to that Target level."

Same-store sales at Target, which offers home goods and clothing by designers such as Isaac Mizrahi and Michael Graves, outpaced Wal-Mart's last year, rising an average of 5.6 percent compared with an average of 3.6 percent at Wal-Mart.